Grand National Derby
Grand National Derby Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Materials
- 1 Fence card
- 8 Horse cards
- 80 Speed cards in the 8 horses' colours (values 0 to 9)
- 10 Neutral (black) cards (values 0 to 9)
- 25 Wooden betting counters in 5 colours
Game Preparation
- Place the 8 horse cards in a column, one above the other, on the left of the playing area.
- Place the fence card slightly above and to the right of the column. This marks the column of the first fence.
- Shuffle the speed cards.
- Deal 8 speed cards to each player. Place the remaining speed cards in a face-down deck.
- Each player receives the betting counters of in one colour:
- for 2 or 3 players: 5 betting counters each
- for 4 or 5 players: 4 betting counters each
General Course of the Game
The race goes over five fences. On his turn, a player may first place one of his betting counters. Then he must play one of his speed cards in the column of the current fence. The speed card is always placed along the row of the respective coloured horse.
As soon as there is at least one speed card played for each horse, the current fence is scored. The horse with the lowest speed card falls at this fence and drops out of the game. Then the fence card is moved further to the right, to mark the column of the next fence. Play continues there.
A Player's Turn
Select a player to start. Then play progresses clockwise. On his turn, the player conducts the following activities in order:
- Place a betting counter. If the player wishes, he may place on of his betting counters. Betting counters may only be placed on a free space to the immediate left of the column of the current fence. Only one bet can be placed per horse at each fence. Betting is only permitted at the first four fences.
- Play a card. The player must play one of his speed cards in the current fence's column, and in the row of the appropriate horse. If there is already a speed card in that position, the new speed card is placed on top of the old one. Neutral (black) speed cards may be placed for any horse. (If, in the later part of the game, a player cannot play a card, because all related horses have fallen, he may pass.) If the newly played card fills the last vacant position in the column of the current fence, the fence is now scored.
- Discard cards. The player may discard any number of speed cards, belonging to horses that have already fallen, onto a discard pile.
- Draw cards. To conclude his turn, the player refreshes his hand to 8 cards by drawing from the face-down deck. When the deck is used up, no further speed cards can be drawn.
Placing a Bet
In the course of the game, the players can bet on individual horses using their betting counters. To do this at the first fence, the betting counter is placed immediately to the right of the horse card of the relevant colour (that is, to the immediate left of the first fence column). At later fences, the betting counter is always placed to the right immediate right of the horse's speed card of the previous fence. That means the betting counters are placed between speed cards of the previous fence and the current one.
Only one betting counter may be placed on each of these positions. Free betting positions at fences which have already been scored may no longer be filled. There can only be a maximum of four bets against any horse in a single race: one before each of the first four fences.
Scoring a Fence
As soon as there is at least one speed card for each horse in the current fence column, the fence is scored. The horse with the lowest speed card (on top) drops out of the race. The respective horse card and all of its placed speed cards are removed from the game. The betting counters placed for this horse are also removed from the game.
If more than one horse ties for the lowest speed card, of these horses, the one furthest away from the fence card falls. After the scoring, the fence card moves to the right, and the race continues at the next fence.
Example: The player places his bet against the horse furthest from the fence, and then plays a speed card into the only empty space of the current fence column. The dark horse (in third position from the fence) falls, and the fence card is moved to the right.
Game End and Payout
The game ends as soon as the fifth fence has been scored. Only three horses will finish the race, and have payouts made against them.
If all the speed cards have been played before the fifth fence can be scored, the game ends immediately. In this case all remaining horses produce a payout.
The amount of the payout depends on at which fence the betting counter was placed. The earlier it was placed, the higher the payout:
| 1st Fence | 2nd Fence | 3rd Fence | 4th Fence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payout | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
The player with the highest total payout wins the game.